Delhi’s Winter Chill

The winter chill has set in here in Delhi. I must confess my ignorance and admit that I had no idea it could get this cold here. Already the temperature has dropped to 5 degrees Celsius (about 41 degrees) at night. And because most buildings, including my bedroom, are not well-insulated, you feel the cold even more.

When I first arrived, many people told me that winters in Delhi could be quite cold. My thought was, "How bad can it be? It's not like it snows here!" Well, highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s isn't THAT cold, but it is very cold when your wardrobe only includes one sweatshirt and two sweaters! I have a stack of scarves that I have acquired since I arrived that are helping out a bit, but they just don't cut it.

My remedy for the cold? First, I'm heading to Goa this weekend to soak up the warm sunshine and 90 degree weather. Then, I'm going home to exchange my tank tops and strappy sandals for a few sweaters, closed-toes shoes and maybe even a coat!

My First Indian Wedding

On Sunday night, I had the pleasure of attending my first wedding, here in India. I met Pran, the Groom, a few weeks ago at my guest house. He's an American of Indian descent and his now-wife, Priya, grew up in Delhi, but has lived in the States for the past several years, for school and work. Since this was an Indian wedding, I was quickly invited along to celebrate with them and their families. Pran and Priya arrived in Delhi several weeks ago to prepare for their week-long wedding festivities. I only participated in the marriage itself, but other events included formal customs and traditions, like the Mehndi Ceremony where the hands and feet of the Bride are decorated with mehndi or henna. They also included more informal gatherings, such as a Bollywood dance party.

On the evening of the wedding or shaadi, I arrived at the site just after 6pm, so I could participate in the groom's procession. Pran's family gathered in the streets to the sounds of drums and there was a bit of dancing even before they festivities began. Then, Pran climbed on top of a decorated white horse and a procession or baraat of family, friends, drummers and bright, huge lanterns escorted him to the place of the ceremony. Here, the Bride's family greeted the Groom and his family and garlands were exchanged. Then, the Groom was seated and the Bride arrived shortly thereafter escorted by her female family members and friends. The Bride and Groom exchanged garlands and guests went up to them individually to wish them the best (and to take photos)!

The marriage ceremony itself lasted about an hour and consisted of the Bride and Groom and took place under the mandap, where they were surrounded by their family and friends. One thing that amazed me was that everyone did not have to participate in, or even watch the actual ceremony. During this time, some guests made their first appearances, food and non-alcoholic drinks served, while other guests wandered the grounds and mingled. I must admit that I missed many of the details of the ceremony itself, because I was seated away from the mandap. Despite this, it was wonderful to see centuries of tradition and ritual take place before my eyes. Then, in very typical Indian fashion, everyone ate and left. I even wore a sari to the wedding and surprisingly, was one of only a few Westerners in traditional dress. All of the Indian ladies were impressed that I had taken the trouble to don a sari for occasion!

This was all quite an experience for me, from buying and wrapping a sari, to participating in the baraat and witnessing the family and friends gathered in such an extravagant fashion to celebrate Pran and Priya's marriage. I am thrilled that they invited me to share in their day and I wish them the best.

Although I had a wonderful time and was fascinated by the experience, I am still not planning on an Indian wedding of my own!

Don't You Want to Visit India?

I've added a new section to my blog to highlight the people that have or plan to visit India while I'm here! This past weekend, I had the pleasure to welcome Kevin and Shawn to Delhi and I have a really bad photo taken by our driver to prove it. Sure they weren't here to see me, but my presence in Delhi was an added bonus for them (and probably the highlight)! Delhi was the first leg in their two week trip throughout the country. I had grand plans to take them to a Thanksgiving Dinner that was being hosted in town, but those plans fell through. While it was my second Thanksgiving without turkey and stuffing, my dad has promised to make a mini-Thanksgiving meal when I visit home next week. And fortunately for me, Kevin and Shawn's visit gave me an excuse to visit two of the best restaurants in town, Shalom and Bukhara. And Kevin got his name painted on a grain of rice. Probably highlight #2 (remember, I'm #1).

As for future visitors, Mike already has a plane ticket for March and I just need to get Laura's ticket for her January visit. Jen Smalheiser is also on board for a March trip and Joey and Jarret are planning to come in February (and will hopefully buy their tickets soon). Jen just booked her ticket, so she gets to move up on the list! Nyla and Hosmer have claimed that they want to come, but I think little progress has been made. Girls - You better get moving!

In any case, I hope that everyone will consider a trip to India whether it's when I'm here or not. My first 7 weeks have flown by, but they have been amazing and have offered me many wonderful sights, travels, experiences and friends.

Sari Shopping

On Saturday afternoon I went to Khan Market to meet up with Shawn and Kevin. It was here that I decided to buy a sari for the wedding I am attending tomorrow. I wasn't really looked forward to this experience, but fortunately Kevin was. We stopped into a small botique shop and not one of the huge sari emporiums that I've heard of. As I quickly learned, a sari is actually composed of three parts - the sari itself, the blouse, and the petticoat, in which the sari material is tucked.

The staff at Atelier was extremely attentive and helpful. The first sari I tried on (in the photo) was quite nice, but then I saw the price tag - 37,000 rupees! Since that's about $750, I immediately told them that it was WAY out of my price range. They were more than accommodating and began to pick out saris that were much more affordable. I settled on an orange one, with an embroidered trim. They took about a gizillon measurements of me and I was on my way. If all goes well, it will be ready at 2pm. This should give me plenty of time to pick it up, learn how to wrap a sari, and then get ready for the wedding at 6pm!

India Checklist Progress

A few weeks ago, I posted a list of things I want to see/do/experience while in India. I'm making good progress so far and here are a few updates.

#1 – Go to an Indian Wedding: I’m planning to go to my first Indian wedding this Sunday! It’s a little random, but I met a man at my guest house a few weeks ago who’s in town to get married. He’s American and of Indian descent, and his fiancée is from Delhi, but has spent the past several years in New York – going to school and working. The day I met him, he extended an invitation to the wedding, which I didn’t take too seriously. But over the course of the past few weeks, he’s brought it up every other time we’ve talked. So, I will be going and I’ve convinced Ani to come with me and help me sort out a gift. And if all goes well, I will be wearing a sari! Good photos are sure to follow.

#3 – Travel to Goa: I’m going to Goa in a week and half! Louise and I made plans to go there with Melissa (a fellow Hoya who we had drinks with a few weeks ago) and several of her friends. It’s sure to be a good time and it’ll be nice to relax on the beach and away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi.

#5 – Learn Basic Hindi: To date I’ve had 4 Hindi lessons with Lola, a wonderful instructor recommended by Elodie. Learning a new language is always tricky, but it's even harder when the characters are completely different! In any case, I’m making some progress, but need to really commit to learning (re: I need to practice more).

Still no significant progress on #2 (Get henna on my hands), #4 (Ride on a cool animal), #6 (Visit the orphanage in Amritsar again) and #7 (Travel to Kerala), but I still have time.

My Guest House

Several people have asked about my accommodations here in Delhi, so I thought I would share a few pictures. For the most part, I have been staying at the same guest house since I arrived in Delhi. The house is located on Prithviraj Road, which numerous people have told me is one of the most exclusive streets in Delhi. People often try to estimate the value of the property and I've heard figures ranging from $3 million to $15 million. And I'm convinced that rickshaw drivers jack up the price when I state that I am going here.

In any case, the grounds are nice. There's a main house where the owners live, plus a kitchen and a few guest rooms. Then, in the back, there's another building that used to be servants' quarters, garages and a cow shed. I actually found out this morning that the room I have been staying in used to be the cow shed! Fun, huh? My current room is quite small and a little drab, but I don't really spend much time there. And - I'm moving to a larger room this afternoon!

There's also a pottery shop on the grounds. A bit random, but also interesting. The pool is great too. It's a bit too cold for swimming now, but I did take a very quick dip the other week. Oh - and there's wireless here. This is so convenient and it allows me to work from home at least once a week, although I have to work outside since the signal is my room is non-existent. But I can't really complain about working while sitting outside in the sun.

Breakfast is served every morning on the terrace and there's a fridge stocked with bottled water and beer. It's great to be able to grab one at any time of day. The guest house is run by a woman, who lives on the property, and her daughter. They are both incredibly nice and have gone out of their way to make me feel at home here. The only problem has been their immense popularity, as there have been a few nights when they've been fully booked and I've had to stay elsewhere. But the environment here is so nice that it's been worth the hassle and I will be staying here through the end of the year.

The most impressive thing, is the army of people that work here during the day. There are 3 guys that work in the house, doing the cooking and cleaning. There are also several gardeners that are around during the day, plus a guy to clean the pool. As I'm writing this, there is a man sweeping the grass. Yes, I said sweeping. At home we would rake and we would use an actual rake, but here it's done with a sort of broom-thing that is archaic according to our standards. In any case, the work gets done. And better yet, people have jobs.

One thing I've noticed here is that it often takes 6-7 people to do a job only 1 or 2 would do at home. If you are in a store, 1 person will help you pick out items. Another will retrieve items from the back. Once you've decided to buy, another person will generate the bill, while another person handles the cash. Then someone else will fold and bag your purchase before handing it to another person, who finally hands it to you! Not the pinnacle of efficiency at all.

Exploring Bangkok - Part 2

The past few days in Bangkok have been a lot of fun. We wrapped up our class on Friday afternoon and after a short break, Thomas and I headed to the shop of the famous Indian tailors, Victor and Jesse. Because I'm such a great daughter, I offered to pick up some more dress shirts for my dad. So I stopped by the shop to order them and pick out the fabrics. And a mere 24 hours later, 8 dress shirts were delivered to my hotel. This was the same shop where I purchased a few shirts for my dad last year. He was so impressed with them, that he wanted more. Afterwards, we found an Italian restaurant where we enjoyed steak! Again, we left we had to take full advantage of the beef in Thailand, since it is essentially non-existent in India. After dinner, we checked out some of the vendors lining Sukhumvit Street, stopping. We finally made our way back to the hotel and made plans for the following day.

On Saturday, I headed to the main Jim Thompson store to pick up a few things. Jim Thompson was an American business who is credited with bringing Thai silk to international attention. Although he mysteriously disappeared many years ago, his brand is still huge here and there are several stores through Bangkok, Thailand and around Asia. The last time I was in Bangkok, I visited the Jim Thompson House, but I spent the bulk of my time in the gift shop. I was obsessed with all of the silk merchandise there and I also managed to visit shops in Phuket and the Bangkok airport! This time I kept the shopping for myself to a minimum and instead bought several presents for folks back home.

In the afternoon, I met up with Thomas at the hotel and we headed to the Grand Palace. After taking the requisite photos and visiting the Emerald Buddha, we made our way to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me and something I missed out on the last time I visited Bangkok. The market itself was huge (30 acres) and you can find almost anything there – toys, clothing, ceramics, pets, underwear, household appliances. Of course, I limited my shopping to clothing. I left with an armload of bags and had acquired several shirts and skirts, another bathing suit, and even a pair of silk shoes. Mission Accomplished.

Worn out from a day of shopping in the sun, I retreated to my room for a few hours. In the evening, Thomas and I had dinner at the hotel. Again, he enjoyed the mixed grilled, another specialty you can’t find in India. We wanted to go for a few drinks, but had no idea where to go. At the front desk, Thomas asked for recommendations on where “young people” would go out. The receptionists laughed and responded, “I don’t know. I’m not young.” Thomas then asked where someone in their late 20s would go and she responded, “That’s not young!” So apparently we are not young. In the end, she recommended a bar in an area called Radio City Avenue (RCA). We never actually found the bar she recommended, but the street was lined with bars and clubs. We wandered into one at the end of the street with a live band. To our surprise, the band was quite good and we enjoyed their music, along with a few Singha beers, before calling it a night.

Sunday was the best day of the whole trip. After breakfast, I treated myself to a pedicure, which my feet desperately needed. Then I decided to brave the sweltering November heat and hit the pool. I have no idea what the temperature was, but I do know the night before, it was 91 degrees at 6pm. So, I’m sure it was well above that and I couldn’t believe it was November. This is winter in Thailand. I only lasted for about an hour at the pool, but found it thoroughly enjoyable. Soon after, I packed up my belongings (there were many more of them know) and had a sandwich at the pool bar, before I had to meet Thomas for our ride to the airport.

And thanks to duty-free shops, my shopping expedition in Bangkok wasn’t over yet! Actually, I only picked up some alcohol for friends back in Delhi and called it quits. But all in all, the 5 days in Bangkok was quite nice and gave me a refreshing break from life in India. I’m definitely excited to go back, but I am not looking forward to the constant car horns, the frequent stares and the repeated attempts to offer me something I don’t want.

Exploring Bangkok - Part 1

I've spent the past 3 days in Bangkok to attend training for the ADP program. The first day I met up with Thomas, my colleague working in Pune, India and from Ireland, to explore the city. We headed off by boat to visit Wat Arun and Wat Po. I've been to both before, but it was great to visit them again. I'm especially a fan of Wat Arun, "Temple of Dawn," which sits right on the river.

Please note the Chanel sunglasses on the top of my head in the photo to the left, as this is the last time you will see them. They are now sitting at the bottom of the Chao Phraya River.

We then visited Wat Po, and after wandering around for a bit, we stopped for wonderful Thai massages (only 220 baht or $6)! Worn out from the heat, we headed back to the hotel in the evening and had dinner there. Plus, we had to get ready for our big class the next day.

As it turned out, Thomas and I were the only two people attending this session. In the morning we met our instructor, Andrew, a Briton who lived in Canada for many years before volunteering and working in Nigeria, Cambodia and now Nepal. The class provided a lot of valuable information about development work and gave us the opportunity to share some of our experiences from the past few weeks in India.

Thursday night after class, we joined Andrew for drinks on the 52nd floor the Banyan Tree Hotel. The view was spectacular. For dinner, we headed to Jim Thompson's Saladaeng Cafe. Because there were soft-shelled crabs on the menu, I had to order them, and they were fabulous. After dinner, we split from Andrew and went to the Suan Lim Night Bazaar. There, I did the requisite shopping (5 handbags, a bathing suits, and a t-shirt) and we also took a ride on the ferris wheel. This seems to be Bangkok's attempt to match the London Eye.

Beef!

When I sat down for lunch yesterday, I remembered that Thailand has something that India does not. Beef! I've made it through the past 5 1/2 weeks without one of my favorite foods, but I could not let the opportunity to eat beef pass without indulging. It wasn't the best burger I've ever had, but it will tide me over until I'm home in a few weeks and can enjoy one of my Dad's famous burgers!

Out of India

With all the buzz surrounding my appearance in the paper, I had to get out of India for a couple of days. Actually, I have ADP (Accenture Development Partnerships) training on Thursday and Friday in Bangkok, so I'm spending a few extra days. I arrived very weary at 6am thanks to an "overnight" flight that should never be called overnight because it's only 4 hours. In any case, it seems that life in India has changed me a bit. I didn't prepare for this trip at all. I just printed out my flight and hotel information and headed to the airport. I didn't look at a map of Bangkok to see where I was staying. I didn't even know the US Dollar - Thai Baht exchange rate. I guess I feel that after living in India for 5 weeks, I can do almost anything.

While I was a bit sad to leave Delhi, now that I'm gone I'm realizing all the good things about going away. First, it's actually quieter and cleaner here. When I first visited Thailand last year, I never would have imagined saying this. Second, there's a bathtub! I haven't seen one of these in over a month, so I am going to take full advantage of it. Third, I love Thai food. And fourth, shopping. If there's one place that can compare with India when it comes to shopping, it's Thailand.

And now it's nap time.

My 15 Minutes of Fame

I managed to have my photo in the Hindustan Times today. Louise called at 7:45am to tell me. It must have been something about all of the great work I'm doing here in India, right? No, it was a photo of me at a party I went to on Friday night! My photo appears along side those of a famous cricketer, a local entrepreneur, and the DJ from the party. What nice company.

In the office this morning, I was telling a colleague about it and a woman leaned over and said 'Page 3, right?' And literally, as I was writing this entry, another guy came up to me and introduced himself after seeing the photo in the paper.

But Page 3 seems to be a big deal here. I'm really quite amazed (and embarrassed) at how many people actually read every page of the paper. I suspect that if I made Page 3 of the Style section of the Washington Post, most people would not notice.

In any case, here's the link to the Jungle Party story in case you want to read all about it.

(And the reference to the Abhishek Bachchan hairband...Abishek is the son of Amitabh Bachchan, one of the country's biggest Bollywood stars. Just last week there was a photo in the paper of Abhishek wearing one of these hairbands and now they are all the rage).

Computer Crisis!!

I'm just recovering from quite a scare involving my computer. It all started at the end of the day on Friday when it suddenly crashed. Sometimes it would work for a few minutes before crashing again, and sometimes it would sort of sputter and then promptly shut down.

While the idea of losing all of my work was quite frightening, the worst thought was how I would get through the weekend. My computer is my connection to life back home. Without email and Skype and I didn't know what I would do. But somehow, I managed. I borrowed a computer for a few hours on Saturday to update my blog and photos and send a few emails. And then I did what the rest of the world does. I disconnected and kept myself entertained in other ways. What a concept.

And fortunately - the IT guy in my office was able to fix my computer, so I am up and running again!

A Wild Ride

This might be one of the funniest things I've witnessed in awhile. As we were leaving a party at Lodhi Garden on Friday night, we spotted a elephant walking down the road. It appeared that the elephant was wandering by itself without a mahout, but as it turned out, there were two mahouts sleeping in the basket on top. Like most people would do, Louise thought to run into the middle of the road and take a few photos. Lauren thought otherwise. She got the bright idea to hitch a ride ON the elephant. With Ani and G's assistance, she asked to jump on. Within seconds she was on top and slowly making her way down Lodhi Road. I opted not to jump on, but I did stick my head out the car window to capture as many photos as possible. It wasn't the fastest ride ever, but certainly one of the coolest. Where else can you ride an elephant in the road at 1 in the morning?!?

Parking Lot Fiasco

Here's a photo of the parking lot outside of the Accenture office in Delhi. I'm not sure what to make of this. What if my car is the red car - the one 7 rows back and blocked in by 50 other cars? There must be some system for parking and retrieving cars from this lot, but I am at a lost as to what it is.

Shopping Expedition in Sarojini Market

Yesterday, I took an afternoon break from work and headed to Sarojini Market for a little shopping. I can't believe it had taken me so long to get there! Many of my friends had been raving about the bargains.

For the past 4 weeks, I've been trying to pace my shopping. I figure six months is plenty of time to find and buy all of the things I want, plus I don't want to deal with lugging my things with me every time I pack up to leave town. But now I starting to reconsider as I think weekly trips to Sarojini Market may be in order. The market has a ton of stalls filled with merchandise for western stores and labels. It was all made in India, but most of the clothing is irregular or even damaged.

To take full advantage, you have to be prepared to sort through piles and piles of clothing. There are no mirrors. You can't really try anything on - unless it's over your clothes. You have to select your sizes carefully and hope they fit when you get home. Louise recommends coming with a friend and a digital camera so you can check out the photos.

All in all, I had a successful shopping trip and returned home with 6 new shirts, 1 skirt and 1 pair of shoes! Total price? About $20! And I swear that one of the shirts I bought is the same as one I have from Ann Taylor Loft and paid at least 10 times as much for!

I can't wait for next week!

My India Checklist

A few weeks ago, Louise and I put together a list of things we want to do/experience by the time we leave India. Many of you know that I love lists and get immense satisfaction by putting a check next to a completed task. I guess that's the consultant in me. Fortunately, I have 6 months (only 5 months now!) to complete my list, while she has only 3. Here's my current list:

• Go to an Indian wedding (Please note this does not say HAVE an Indian wedding. I will NOT be getting married here).
• Get henna on my hands
• Travel to Goa
• Ride on a cool animal (other than a camel and elephant, which I have already done)
• Learn basic Hindi
• Visit the orphanage in Amritsar again

I'm sure I will add to this list over the course of the next few months, but this is a start. I'm already dreaming of trips to Kerala in the south and Kashmir in the north, so these should be on the list soon.

As for my progress, there hasn't been much to date. I have an invitation to a wedding, but I don't know if the timing will work out. And today I had my second Hindi lesson, so I am making some progress with that, although I really have to work on my pronunciation!

From time to time, I'll repost this list and let you know how I'm doing. And if you have any recommendations for me, please let me know!

Working on the Weekend

On Friday evening I was really looking forward to my relaxing weekend with few plans. It was to be my first weekend in Delhi to just hang out and explore, since I had gone to Amritsar and Varanasi two of the weekends, and the third was Diwali and all of its associated firework madness. I had plan to go shopping, read, maybe hang out by the pool. All of my plans came to a screeching halt when my dinner was interrupted by a phone call telling me I would be traveling to Meerut the following day.

Meerut is a small town located in Uttar Pradesh, one of the states just adjacent to Delhi. Meerut is only 65 km (40 mi) from Delhi, but travel by car takes forever due to poor roads and TRAFFIC. My journey to Meerut took about 3 hours each way. And in typical Indian fashion, it included a few unscheduled stops along the way to pick up food, pick up packages, and drop of people. My return trip even included a stop at my colleague's apartment for coffee and sweets and a viewing of The Pelican Brief. I'm not kidding. Fortunately, I was able to decline his offer of dinner and made it back to my guest house at 9:30pm - 9 hours later!

Despite my annoyance at the journey, the trip was well worth it. In India, I'm working for the GSM Association, who has partnered with several of the Indian wireless companies to launch a product called Shared Phone in rural areas of the country. Shared Phone essentially acts as a mobile pay phone, thereby enabling people to have access to wireless technology without having to bear the cost of a mobile phone. At the same time, the product gives a local entrepreneur the opportunity to run his/her own business. The target audience for the product is the un- or under-employed.

The purpose of our trip was to test the product in the local market, in order to document (and ultimately) correct any problems that currently exist with the product. It's really typical IT project management work, but with a great end result. It was very interesting to see a more rural part of the country, since the bulk of my time has been spent in Delhi or other tourist destinations. And it was even more interesting to meet one of the local entrepreneurs that has bought and will be using this equipment. I get to go back to Meerut on Wednesday to re-test the product and hopefully I will have the chance to meet more Shared Phone users.

I'm back in Delhi now and will reward myself with a leisurely day at the guest house. I plan to read and go for a swim and not think about the fact that I had to work on Saturday!

Did You Know?

I'm constantly fascinated by the number of people that live in India. Geographically-speaking, the country is large, but only about a third of the size of the United States. Despite that, over 1.1 billion people live here. The country and the people are incredibly diverse. Here are a few statistics about India:

• 16% of the world's population lives in India.
• The population of India is approximately 1.1 billion, nearly 4 times more than the US, although the country is only about a third of the size of the US.
• The population of Delhi is roughly 15 million and is estimated to reach over 20 million by 2015.
• India has the second largest number of English speakers in the world.
• India has 22 official languages and hundreds of other languages and dialects.
• India has the second largest Muslim population in the world, behind on Indonesia. 13% of the Indian population is Muslim.

An Indian Halloween

Who says they don't celebrate Halloween in India? Certainly not me since I went to one of the best Halloween parties ever last night.

Louise, Lauren, Nic and I went as paranoid tourists. We were a bit limited in our costumes because as we went to buy supplies on Monday, we discovered that just about every store in Delhi was closed because of a 3 day strike. As a result, we had to rely on the clothes we had. We donned our t-shirts, shorts, running shoes and hats. Louise loaded her belt with disinfectant, bug spray and her Lonely Planet guide, while Lauren used her bug spray as perfume and gave herself a nice sunburn. Nic worn his pants as high as humanly possible and a camera was permanently around his neck.

While we thought our costumes were funny, they paled in comparison to the others. There was a no costume, no entry rule that was strictly enforced. This ensured that everyone there was wearing some type of costume - most of them quite lavish. The party setting was unlike any I've seen. The terrace was completely decorated and included a graveyard, ghosts in trees and creepy music playing in the background. And no - my pictures above aren't fuzzy. That's just the fog from the fog machine, something that every good Halloween party needs.

I found later on that most of the Indians in attendance didn't even know what Halloween was before the party. But you would never know that my the thought that went into their costumes. I guess that's just the result of the no costume, no entry rule. And it definitely worked.